"Implementation Patterns" is a great book to make better Java developers. The focus is to make us think about writing more readable and maintainable code. Kent Beck accomplishes this by going thru WHY we write things a certain way.

The audience is Java developers who know the basics of the language. If you have more experience, you will understand points on a deeper level. If you are newer to Java, you will form good habits.

There were just too many things I liked about this book, so here's a list:

- clear, concise and short snippets
- simple, bare-bones diagrams
- discussion on caveats and tradeoffs
- over 100 pages of patterns
- over 75 patterns
- about concepts and OO; not a style guide
- focus on values like communication and simplicity
- section on cross cutting principles like minimizing repetition
- short sections (Kent says some chapters long, but 30 patterns in 30 pages has great subdivision)
- how JUnit 4 design decisions follow theses patterns
- Kent even got in a dig about Sun never removing deprecated code
- bibliography with a blurb from Kent on each title
- pattern index on inside back cover in addition to traditional index

The book can be read straight thru or used as a reference. It's short, light and easy enough that it can be read on an airplane. (and in this case, it was.) It's also organized enough to go back and read about the pattern relevant at the time.